


Whumptober 2019

by Centeris2



Category: Star Stable
Genre: Again just so many characters and not even going to bother with pairings, Gen, I think gore might be the worst it'll get?, I will update the warnings if necessary because I'm not yet sure if any of these will get real Nasty, I'll be safe and start with Mature rating and I'll lower it if none of them get above T, but each one will have relating trigger warnings on their chapter, it'll be in the notes at the top so you can see the trigger warnings before you see the actual fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2020-11-10 18:15:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 17,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Centeris2/pseuds/Centeris2
Summary: 31 days of angsty hurt-the-characters-you-love goodness!The first chapter is the prompt list, which will be updated with what character(s) will be involved as they are posted. Any relevant trigger warnings will be in the notes at the top of each chapter.Part of this event - https://whumptober2019.tumblr.com/post/187356400823/october-approaches-and-so-does-whumptober-2019Thanks Whumptober2019 for the delightful prompt list and event! :D





	1. Prompt List

1 Shaky Hands - Jessica and Rebecca

2 Explosion - Rebecca (story quest spoilers)

3 Delirium - Ydris

4 Human Shield - Jessica and Rebecca

5 Gunpoint - Kembell and Rebecca

6 Dragged Away - Rebecca (story quest spoilers)

7 Isolation - Silversong/Midnightwarrior

8 Stab Wound - Raptor

9 Shackled - Concorde

10 Unconscious - Aideen

11 Stitches - Jessica and Rebecca

12 “Don’t Move” - The Dark Riders, Jessica, Katja, and Sabine

13 Adrenaline - Midnightwarrior

14 Tear-stained - Connie (GED Intern)

15 Scars - Rebecca

16 Pinned Down - Rebecca and Midnightwarrior

17 “Stay with me” - Jessica and Rebecca

18 Muffled Scream - Justin

19 Asphyxiation - Darko and Mr. Sands

20 Trembling - Lisa

21 Laced Drink - Soul Riders

22 Hallucination - Linda

23 Bleeding Out - Aideen and Silversong

24 Secret Injury - Midnightwarrior

25 Humiliation - Justin

26 Abandoned - Anne

27 Ransom - Kembell and Rebecca

28 Beaten - Garnok

29 Numb - Garnok 

30 Recovery - Garnok, Aideen, and Silversong

31 Embrace - Garnok, Silversong, and Rebecca

ALTERNATIVES - to be used if stuck/squicked by any of the official prompts  
1 “Wake up!”

2 Broken voice

3 Fever

4 Dehydration

5 Fist Fight

6 Lost

7 Winded

8 “Stay quiet.”

9 Hiding

10 Nightmare

11 Infection

12 Waterlogged

13 Breathless

14 Touch-starved

15 Field Medicine

16 Bound


	2. 1. Shaky Hands - Jessica and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the storyline where Jessica is training Rebecca in magic.   
Warnings: language

“Come on, this is simple!” Jessica groaned in frustration as Rebecca failed once more.

“Spontaneously rearranging matter to create void energy or whatever isn’t simple!” Rebecca snapped, glaring at Jessica as she asked, “you’ve been riding my ass all day! What is going on?”

“Your incompetence is exhausting,” Jessica rubbed her forehead.

“Excuse me!?” Rebecca demanded, thoroughly insulted, “I’m learning magic at a ridiculous pace!”

“You shouldn’t need to learn it at all! You should just remember!” Jessica snapped, throwing her hands up and walking away a few feet before pacing back, “I thought I’d just jog your memory and then you’d just…” she gestured, inarticulate.

“Well sorry I don’t remember being a goddess, it’s not like I chose to forget,” Rebecca grumbled and crossed her arms across her chest, looking away. 

“If the fucking Keepers…” Jessica muttered under her breath, rubbing her forehead again as she glared at Rebecca, “stupid human body.”

“Wow, thanks. I’m human now, deal with it!” Rebecca snapped, Jessica growling.

“I shouldn’t have to! This shouldn’t- you shouldn’t-” Jessica resorted to gesturing again, pacing once more.

“For something to do with me, you’re making it awfully personal.” 

“It is personal!” Jessica grabbed Rebecca by the shoulders, shaking, “I hate it! I hate this!”

“Jess…” Rebecca put her hands over Jessica’s.

“You-she left, you-she… Aideen was gone for so long and-” her voice hitched, a crack in her imposing aura. Jessica wove her fingers through Rebecca’s, trying to hide the trembling.

“I know-” Rebecca tried but Jessica shook her head.

“No, you don’t, you don’t remember, and now you’re stuck in that body and you’ll never be her again and…” Jessica gulped and looked away, withdrawing but still holding Rebecca’s hands.

“And you don’t even remember what we- what you meant to-” Jessica gave up her attempts to explain as she leaned in and kissed Rebecca. Rebecca went stock still, not expecting it, and Jessica pulled away before Rebecca could respond.

“It’s all wrong,” Jessica spat, fighting back tears. She watched Rebecca cautiously but leaned in when Rebecca touched her face and pulled her into another kiss, sweet and chaste. Jessica pressed closer, lips parting to deepen the kiss and properly taste Rebecca. They pulled closer, arms wrapped around each other, but Jessica pulled her mouth away.

“It’s all wrong,” she repeated again, unable to meet Rebecca’s gaze as she shuddered, trying to regain her composure.

“You don’t remember what it was like, you have no idea what it was like to… to be kissed by Aideen. She was energy, life, creation itself, and when you… it felt like the sun and moon and stars were kissing me,” Jessica admitted, eyes squeezed shut but unable to stop the tears.

“I’m sorry,” Rebecca murmured, Jessica burying her head in Rebecca’s shoulder.

“I want you back, please… please come back to me… I just want Aideen back,” Jessica begged, knowing Rebecca could do nothing but hold her.


	3. 2. Explosion - Rebecca (story spoilers)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers + trigger warning - character death.
> 
> Rebecca watches Elizabeth die.

Rebecca wasn’t thinking as she ran after Elizabeth into the portal. There was nothing to think about, Alex was on a suicide mission and Rebecca wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. The only reason Elizabeth was ahead was because of a head start. It wasn’t that Rebecca thought Alex couldn’t handle it, she knew Alex wouldn’t handle it. She hadn’t missed the signs: the comments Alex made about being worthless, about how Rebecca was a damn prodigy, and the underlying implications that Rebecca could easily replace Alex. She had sent Tin-Can back to Jorvik, going alone after Darko. If she had meant to take on Darko and win she would have kept Tin-Can, not severely handicapped herself by forcing her soul steed to another dimension.

Alex didn’t intend to come back.

Rebecca ran after Elizabeth, seeing the flashes in the distance of the In Between from the fighting. She held her arm out, waiting for the rush of horse next to her that would sweep her up.

There were no hoofbeats behind her.

The realization made her falter, glancing back and seeing no one had followed them. Why hadn’t Midnightwarrior followed her? Nothing would stop him from being with her…

An explosion urged Rebecca forward to Alex rather than back to her horse. Alex was in immediate danger, and she didn’t sense any danger from Midnight. She resumed running, hoping whatever was holding up Midnight would not delay him much longer. 

Alex and Darko were locked in combat when Rebecca got to Elizabeth’s side, Alex clearly losing ground. Rebecca cursed under her breath as she realized she had nothing that would reach Darko, no runewand, no fragment of Aideen’s light, and no combative magic. If Midnight were here she’d just fly across and run Darko down. Instead she just glanced to Elizabeth, hoping the older woman would strike at Darko while he was distracted. He was too busy monologuing and gloating about beating a teenager to notice the new arrivals across the chasm.

But Elizabeth waited to be noticed, speaking instead of shooting first. Rebecca bit back her frustration at her uselessness as she watched Elizabeth ignore Darko instead of finishing him, watching without any way of getting to them, some way to kill Darko and end his threat, something, anything.

Rebecca stood in silence when a flash left Elizabeth crystalline, the realization of what she was watching setting in. An explosion sent Alex ducking for cover and Darko flying, and then it was over. 

As the energy faded Rebecca sighed, angry at herself and at Elizabeth. She should have brought her runewand, Elizabeth should have allowed her training to progress. But it didn’t matter now. First she needed to get Alex out of here, then they’d use the five leaf clover.


	4. 3. Delirium - Ydris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: language  
My in-game explanation for Ydris' graphic update and new circus set-up quests

After a successful day of entertaining those who happened upon the circus Ydris enjoyed a quiet moment in the big top tent. Things were good: he was becoming known as the odd but respectable circus master, he was making progress training Rebecca, and he knew Rebecca well enough now to know she’d help when the time came.

“No more shows tonight, I’m afraid,” Ydris called when the fabric rustled. He looked toward the noise, narrowing his eyes when he felt a shimmer. 

“Little sneak, are we?” he muttered, snapping his fingers to dispel the invisibility. A cloaked figure retreated, and Ydris felt a surge of energy to his left. He instinctively raised his hand, blocking the magic strike, his head jerking as two more came from outside the tent. One made it through his shield and he let out a cry, forced down to a knee.

“Fool!” Ydris called, wondering where he had gotten off to now that he was needed. Three more stunning strikes raced toward him, two blocked and one hitting him again. Figures spilled into the big top, one holding a censer, smoke spreading.

“Fuck-!” the magician swore, panicking and aiming a blast of raw magic at the censer. There was a flash and splintering sound as it connected, the cloaked figure holding the chain yelping and dropping the shattered metal and smoldering herbs. Another bolt of energy downed him, leaving him struggling to stay on his hands and knees.

_‘You’re not from Jorvik,’_ a multitude of voices shot through his mind, tearing through him and finding no feelings of warmth or belonging to Jorvik.

“No. Who-aaH!” he gripped his head and panted as the voices rang out again.

_‘Don’t you miss home? You love your home so much. You’d never leave your home, your family. You can’t stand the thought of being away from your loved ones.’_

“Get… out…” Ydris hissed, shaking but unable to make himself move as hands began to touch him, phantom fingers creeping through his skull.

_‘You never dreamed of crowds and fame, you just wanted to make your family happy. You wanted to bring joy to your home. Nothing more. No reason to travel beyond home.’_ Why had Ydris left home? He loved home so much. No- there was a reason, he had to leave he- 

_‘Go home, they miss you so much. Don’t you want them to smile? You can’t stand to be away any longer! You’d never dream of leaving home!’_

Oh gods he missed home, he had to go back! He had to go back this moment! He’d go home and he’d never leave!

Outside the tent two figures spoke quietly.

“He is succumbing,” one whispered, “what of his assistant? His ‘fool’?”

“I did my best but...” 

“But?”

“He was insane, Elizabeth! His mind made no sense, the thoughts weren’t right… I fear the magician was experimenting on him!” the cloaked figure sighed and rubbed their hidden face.

“We have too much to worry about now, once Dark Core is dealt with then we can worry about this magician and any experiments he is doing,” Elizabeth decided before pressing, “But the Fool…?”

“Won’t remember anything. At all. The most merciful thing was to just… wipe him.”

“There was no chance to salvage any of his mind?” Elizabeth asked, surprised.

“None, I doubt even a team of our best healers could have undone the damage the magician did.”

“That is regrettable, I hate for a possible innocent to be broken…”

“If they were innocent to begin with, who knows how he came to work for the magician-,” they stopped as another joined them.

“Avalon? Is it done?” Elizabeth asked.

“The others are finishing the conditioning, but yes,” Avalon gave a tired sigh, “now to go through the wagons and see if there is anything relating to Rebecca or the witches.”

“It is already being handled,” Elizabeth nodded toward a figure in the window of one of the circus wagons. “So far nothing beyond what any decent magician would have. Shouldn’t be much longer before they are done.”

“Then we can leave,” Avalon shuddered and rubbed his arms, “I dislike such… direct measures. But it was necessary.”

“Yes, Avalon, it is,” Elizabeth offered in reassurance, putting a hand on Avalon’s shoulder and squeezing.

Within half an hour the circus was empty save for Ydris and his Fool. By midnight the circus had vanished.

Ydris felt like he was floating in a dream, his consciousness outside of him while his body faded away into nothingness. Nothing mattered. There was nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing but home.  
That’s right, home. Ydris desperately wanted home. There was no reason to ever leave home. All he needed and ever wanted was home with his family.  
In fact, Ydris had never left home, much less considered the idea of leaving. Why would he leave? He’d never left home before, never wanted to, never would. Of course he wouldn’t leave home. Why would he leave? Everything was right and perfect and good when he was home. Home was all that mattered. Home was all he wanted. And now he was home! Had he ever left? Of course he hadn’t ever left, he’d never leave his home-

The warm and chaotic magic of Pandoria crushed him, his home’s magic tearing through and shredding his restructured mind, reshaped with magic alien to him, magic that had tried to rip apart his memories and force them into a form more fitting to his enemies.

Ydris didn’t know how long he drifted in pain and madness, his home trying to put his mind back together and fill in the pieces that the Keepers had cut out and thrown aside. 

“This spot will be perfect, Xin!” Ydris declared, looking at an empty plot of land. It was as perfect as a place in Jorvik could be, the heart of enemy territory, in a dimension actively trying to poison him. Xin said nothing, busy glaring at Zee who was not so subtly trying to steal his hat.

“Don’t be so negative!” Ydris chided though no one had said anything, “this will be the perfect place for our little family to settle down and prepare… I do believe everyone from home will very much enjoy what we prepare for them…”

After all, home and family were the most important things to Ydris, and all he ever wanted to do was make his family smile. And he knew exactly how to make sure everyone in his family would always smile.


	5. 4. Human Shield - Jessica and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: main character death

Alarms called the druids to action, one of their secure facilities breached by two Dark Riders. Their target was unclear, but suspected to be information from the library held in the secret cave network. Security found the two retreating, one in black and one in white, and opened fire with magic. The White Rider tried to block but could not cast a barrier in time, and the Black Rider pulled the White in front, using them as a shield. 

Red stained the white figure, a shriek of pain echoing down the hallways, and the Black dragged their limping companion away before the next volley could reach them. The White Rider slammed their gloved fist against the wall as they fled, activating a trap they have snuck past before. Rocks tumbled behind them, the ceiling coming down and preventing the druids from following through that passageway, buying the pair time.

“Come on,” the Black Rider hissed, their partner stumbling and falling.

“Midnight-” the strained voice made the Black Rider stop and kneel down, looking at the White Rider, realizing what she had done.

“He-” she coughed, Jessica pushing back Rebecca’s hood so the siren could look at the human’s face.

“You’ll be fine,” Jessica insisted as Rebecca crumpled to the floor, “hey- listen to me!”

“You used me-” Rebecca looked at her with betrayal and fury, coughing blood as her organs shut down from the magic attacks.

“You can’t die,” Jessica urged, panic welling up, “not really. Listen to me,” she begged and took Rebecca’s face in her hands, staring into her eyes. “I’m going to find you, okay?”

Shouts echoed from another hallway.

“Jess…” Rebecca’s face paled, blood beginning to trickle from her eyes, matching the tears welling up and threatening to spill over Jessica’s cheeks.

“I will find you before they do. You and Midnight. I won’t let them get to you again,” Jessica swore before she sealed her vow with a kiss, feeling the last bit of breath leave Rebecca. Damn the frailty of human bodies. Damn the druids for stripping Aideen of her true form. But Jessica could wait another twenty years for Aideen to return once more. 

The Druids were horrified to find that it was not Katja in the white hood, but Rebecca, dead on their floor.


	6. 5. Gunpoint - Kembell/GED and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: police violence, guns

Rebecca was surprised when a police officer stopped her in Jorvik City. Not that she had been stopped, though that was also strange, but that there were police at all. How had she not noticed any cops before?

“What?” she asked, realizing she hadn’t heard what he said, too surprised there was an actual police force on Jorvik. He snarled at her and pulled out his baton.

“Is this non-compliance?” he asked, clearly waiting for her to say the wrong thing.

“Sorry, I just didn’t hear what you said. Who are you again? Where is your badge?” Rebecca asked, glancing up and down to see some sort of identification. She had friends in high places, if this cop tried to rough her up she could easily disarm and report him. 

“Resisting arrest, eh?” he grabbed her wrist, surprising her.

“Arrest! For what?” she demanded to know as he hauled her into a small side alley. “I doubt this is how a proper officer of the law acts in Jorvik!” 

The smack to the side of her head caught her off guard, and her vision swam as he hissed: “stop resisting!”

“Oh-ho ho…” Rebecca snickered. Definitely not a cop. She swung a fist into his stomach, satisfied by his grunt of pain and warned, “you have one chance to walk away.”

“Assaulting an officer of the law? Tsk tsk,” the voice came from further down the alley, making Rebecca glance into the shadows. Two GED thugs stepped out from an alcove and approached. The cop pushed her away and drew a pistol.

“I said stop resisting!” he repeated, furious. The firearm trained at her head kept her from lashing out.

“Does GED own the police? Or just you?” Rebecca asked, putting her hands up in fake surrender. It’s easier to cast with her hands up and ready.

“Just you, Lightknight. I just own you,” the voice came again, Rebecca not surprised when Kembell stepped out of hiding. He lifted his chin to the cop but kept his eyes on Rebecca.

“Don’t be stupid now,” he warned her, watching her as she kept her eyes on the cop, waiting for him to lower his guard.

“Or what? You can’t hurt me, it’s board daylight. One scream, one gunshot, and this place will be crawling with people investigating,” Rebecca pointed out, trained on the handgun. 

“And what about your squeeze? The little traitor intern from North Link?” he grinned when her attention snapped to him.

“If you hurt-”

“I’ve done a lot more than hurt. Come! Be a good little girl and see for yourself!” Kembell invited, gloating, ignorant enough to be pleased by her furious expression. But she didn’t move when the cop lowered his gun and put her in restraints, the two GED thugs taking her by the shoulders and leading her into the back of a van. 

The brazen actions, lacking any subtly or secrecy, led Rebecca to the conclusion that Kembell did not expect her to tell anyone what he did. He didn’t think she’d have the chance. He intended to kill her.


	7. 6. Dragged Away - Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Rescuing Anne story quests

“Ha! It worked!” Rebecca clapped her hands, pleased with herself, wind dying down and papers settling on the floor. Elizabeth stood there, bewildered and panting as her adrenaline faded away.

“What…” Elizabeth glanced around to get her bearings. She was in Fripp’s room, which was now a mess. Papers and tiny shards of pink were everywhere, and Fripp was still out cold.

“I got you back!” Rebecca explained, “what do you remember?”

“Alex was… Darko… I…” she trailed off and looked at Rebecca, stern now, “How did you do this?”

“The clover. You guys hadn’t used it on Fripp for some reason,” Rebecca shrugged.

“The five leaf clover. From Ydris,” Elizabeth clarified, slowly, expression turned hard.

“Yes. You know, the miracle granting clover?” Rebecca asked rhetorically, crossing her arms as she felt a fight coming on. 

“You have no idea what you’ve done! You shouldn’t have-” the ensuing argument continued, escalating when Avalon arrived, the release of magic energy getting his attention. Elizabeth tried to gain control of the situation, but Rebecca was stubborn and unrelenting, and before Elizabeth could somehow soothe the furious young woman Rebecca snapped.

“I’m done!” Rebecca declared, pushing past Elizabeth and Avalon. “You don’t want my help then fine! I’m out!”

“Rebecca-” Avalon grabbed her by the arm before she reached the portal, yanking her to face him, “that’s not-”

His sentence dropped off when a flash of light momentarily blinded him, Rebecca dropping to her knees. Elizabeth, hand outstretched, looked at Avalon urgently.

“You-” Rebecca snarled, head snapping toward Elizabeth. In panic, Avalon clasped his hands and slammed them into the back of Rebecca’s head with all of his might.

“Elizabeth!” Avalon cried, looking to her for directions, bewildered. What were they doing?!

“Quickly,” Elizabeth urged, grabbing ingredients from around Fripp’s room.

“We can’t- what are we-” Avalon muttered, frantic as he cradled Rebecca’s head in his lap, watching as Elizabeth sat next to him.

“She wouldn’t listen! If she just listened!” Elizabeth hissed, more to herself than Avalon, “she’s too damn stubborn and dangerous to be on her own.”

“So we’re just going to…” Avalon watched Elizabeth light a bowl of incense.

“She didn’t give us a choice! You know she’s too dangerous on her own, we have to control her, or else…” Elizabeth trailed off, letting Avalon fill in the blanks. Elizabeth waved Avalon away, Avalon easing Rebecca to the floor, and Elizabeth moved in, placing her hands on Rebecca’s head.

Rebecca grasped at nothing, hands finding purchase in the void. She knew there was something there, but she couldn’t see, couldn’t remember. But it was the only anchor she had as she felt something grabbing her, pulling her, dragging her away. The empty void in her hands crumbled, the inky blackness of nothing surrounding Rebecca as she thrashed, fighting, clawing. She couldn’t see anything, not even herself, but she knew this void was crowded with lost and forgotten things. But something was pulling her out, tearing away the locked memories before she could touch them. There was so much she hadn’t remembered, so much here to be discovered. Songs and loves and dreams, all here, and she was being pulled out of reach until she was so far away that she couldn’t remember anything anymore. The last thing she remembered was somewhere, very far away, a part of her was screaming.


	8. 7. Isolation - Silversong (Aideen's horse)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: some body horror aspects

The first time it was in eastern Jorvik, with a witch with a talent for Wild Whispering. He had stared at the horse, a yearling, a colt of a wild band. The human spent weeks trying to earn the colt’s trust, until finally on a cloudy winter day the colt had approached, enticed by food. 

At the time, the horse had not understood why the man bowed to him and muttered a reverent, “My Lord.”

The horse merely took the food offering, and cautiously followed the human back, eager for more food. 

Several other witches were waiting for him, caring for him, never trying to ride him. They called him Silversong, and the memories slowly returned.

_“Where is she?”_ the horse one day asked, the witch near him bowing their head in shame.

“The druids, they are keeping her.”

_“How?”_

“We don’t know, they did something to her, we haven’t seen her since.”

_“I can barely feel her.”_

The druids refused to answer the witches’ questions, and thwarted their attempts to find her. It proved too dangerous, so the coven refocused their purpose to protecting Silversong. 

The second time memories flickered back into focus when the foal, a filly this time, saw the spot of their last body’s death.

_“I want her back,”_ the filly had said, looking at the witches, _“the druids still keep her?”_

“Yes, Silversong,” one witch admitted, bowing their head in shame.

_“They dare treat their god this way?”_ the filly snarled, knowing the druids did not truly revere Aideen as a deity. Not the leaders anyway, they saw Aideen as a tool. 

“We will protect you until she joins us once more,” the coven swore. 

The head of the second incarnation was placed alongside the first.

The third time the witches did not find Silversong until young adulthood, a young stallion in a bachelor band. He took comfort in resting under the skulls of his past lives.

The fifth time Silversong was owned and the witches had to steal him. The seventh time the witches had to relocate to a safer hiding place, taking the skulls with them. By the ninth rebirth the skulls of the past were being painted and carved, delicate designs that told the story of that body. They adorned the sacred shrine that Silversong lived in for multiple lives, a physical reminder of Silversong’s separation from the other half of his soul.

After centuries a piercing scream tore through the shrine, Silversong spasming and twisting in pain, his faithful guardians approaching when he was no longer thrashing. He said nothing, falling silent, and remained on the floor, refusing to eat or drink. He stayed like that, soulless, until the smell of goddess blood came to his nose.

“Gods…” the guest of the witches stood there, staring at the horse, this time a heavy bay stallion, bones obvious from starvation. An ear twitched, the first movement in days, and the horse looked at him.

“I am-” the strange man began, going down onto one knee.

_“Traitor,”_ the voice echoed in the minds of all around. The man glanced up, face going pale, his mouth opening to defend himself. Instead of words there was a cry of pain, the sensation of his skull being shot and torn apart from the inside making him collapse and writhe on the ground. 

_“Wanderer, banished from your love,”_ the voice continued, images of Pandoria flooding his mind, the cracks on his face searing hot. He struggled to look, barely able to make out the approaching horse through the haze of pain. 

_“Gray Pilgrim, I can smell our blood on your hands,”_ the voice continued, the horse taking in a deep breath, head close to Evergray’s. 

“She was-” he wasn’t able to get out the words, tendrils ripping through his thoughts and memories once more, Silversong tearing the thought process from Evergray’s mind. 

_“You freed her. You freed us.”_

The pain subsided, the horse now satisfied and going to his feed. Evergray struggled to his feet, panting hard. 

“I am sorry I had to use such methods…” Evergray apologized, glancing at the witches who had let him in. 

_“You are welcome here, but-”_ the horse looked back at Evergray, the exiled druid recoiling when the horse’s skull shifted, bone moving and jaw extending, fangs protruding and a third blood red eye appearing in the center of his forehead, focused on Evergray. _“You will serve us when we return.” _

“I swear,” Evergray breathed, the horse suddenly normal once more. 


	9. 8. Stab Wound - Raptor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set before Raptor made it in the music industry. Tor is Raptor's real first name (in my headcanon anyway)  
Trigger warning: blood and knife violence (if the title didn't give it away)

Tor gripped his arm tight as he made his way home, wincing as each step was another jolt of pain in his upper arm. How was he going to cover this up? Blood was already soaking through his jacket despite him holding fast to the wound. And there was the matter of his face: he could feel his eye and lip swelling from damage. There was a slim chance his mother somehow wouldn’t notice him, and even if she was asleep he had no way of hiding the split lip and black eye the next morning. He knew it was useless wishing his mother would be in bed, and he bit back guilt knowing she was no doubt still awake waiting for him to come home, worrying about him. And coming home like this would just add fuel to her worries. 

He unlocked and opened the door as quietly as he could, the door only opening a tiny amount, the chain locks catching it. He winced, the chain locks were only used when everyone was home, or if someone was waiting up for the last straggler.

“Tor?” he let go of the door and stepped back, hearing his mother on the other side undoing the chain locks. He braced himself, wearing a sheepish smile as the door opened.

“Hey, Ma. You didn’t need to stay up…” he mumbled, his words lost in her panicked fussing.

“What happened!? Who did this? Where have you been?!” she demanded, pulling him inside and turning on more lights to inspect him fully.

“Just a fight,” he muttered. He hadn’t expected a knife to be pulled.

“‘Just’!” she scoffed, going into the kitchen and wetting a washcloth. Tor followed, accepting the wet cloth and cleaning his face while she pulled out ice. In the better light she could see the dark spot on his sleeve and the blood staining his hand.

“Tor!” she said sternly, focusing in, “show me your arm this instant!”

“It’s not that bad…” he grimaced, peeling the jacket off, and then his long sleeved shirt. He hated when she got like this, but it was better than her worrying. 

“That’ll need stitches,” she muttered, inspecting the messy stab wound on his upper arm. 

“Sorry…” he mumbled. Stitches meant doctors, and the last thing his mother needed was another bill. But she would never complain to her son about money troubles, instead she focused on taking care of him.

“Oh… my sweet boy, why did…” she sighed, not wanting to assign blame. She had no idea if he had picked the fight, or if he had been forced into it. Was a knife to the arm lucky? How much worse could it have been?

“He said-” Tor grumbled, spitting out the slur with hatred, his mother stiffening at the word, “didn’t know he had a knife.”

“It’s best to avoid people like that,” his mother chided, “and any of their friends.”

He nodded, sitting quietly as his mother retrieved another cloth and tied it around his arm.

“What were you doing out so late?” she asked as she finished tying it off, guessing, “hanging with the Cloudmill boys? Or Wolffish? Rothgate?”

“I was with Mark and Will for a while…” he didn’t elaborate beyond that, staring at a spot on the wall instead of looking at his mother.

“Tor,” she sighed, taking him by the chin and making him look at her, “you’re better than this.” She kissed him on the forehead, not seeing him blink back tears of shame and frustration.

“Let’s get you to a doctor,” she said and pulled away. Tor followed her silently, mentally kicking himself. Was he really better than this? He desperately wanted to get out of here and be on stage with countless adoring fans, and so wildly rich his mom would forget she ever had to live here and deal with him. If he could just make it big he wouldn’t disappoint her or ever make her worry about him again.


	10. 9. Shackled - Concorde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I'm not letting go of my headcanon that Dark Core had Concorde, at least for a time.

It had been years since Concorde had felt such loneliness. It was just as strange and disorienting as last time with only a few key differences.

Difference 1: Anne was in Pandoria this time, not him.

Difference 2: he was physically restrained this time, rather than his soul.

Neither difference was a good one, and one of the similarities was also not good: Dark Core was responsible.

The abduction from the dressage event had been chaotic, and rather bold of Dark Core, but they pulled it off. Anne was now in Pandoria, alone, and Concorde was hidden deep within Dark Core. 

It was not a good position to be in.

Concorde snorted and tried to stamp his hooves, but the hobble greatly restricted movement. He could shuffle around his stall to get to his food and water, halter and ropes keeping him from turning much, and that was it. Occasionally someone would take blood samples, or inject him with something, or remove him long enough to clean the stall. Whatever the injections were didn’t do any lasting damage, sometimes they itched, sometimes they made him sleepy, sometimes they did nothing at all. 

Jessica occasionally walked by to gloat, smirking to herself as she taunted him. Sabine came by a few times, but all she did was lean against the opposite wall and stare, studying him in silence before leaving hours later. Darko came regularly, an unfamiliar person at first but soon Concorde figured out Darko was the one in charge of his prison. Concorde had a very low opinion of Darko, lower than the others, as the man clearly had no idea what he was dealing with. It was obvious he was inexperienced, and still smelled wholly human. 

Another unfamiliar, yet familiar, face Concorde came to know was a person named Laverne. He could not recall memories of the man in this life, but could feel echoes of past lives. When Concorde first smelled the man, smelling him before he heard or saw him, a shiver ran down his back. The pale man had smiled at the stallion, a cold familiarity in his expression. Concorde pinned back his ears and the man laughed, a sound Concorde knew he had heard many times before. 

And then, after he had lost track of time, after the shackles had become a familiar weight, after Concorde withered away into a shell, a new man appeared. Tall, magical, and not at all human, the man had appeared suddenly and with a tip of his top hat Concorde felt himself pulled. There were shouts in the distance that quickly faded in swirls of pink and purple, and then everything went black.


	11. 10. Unconscious - Aideen

The void of unconsciousness had a particular emptiness now. She was well and truly alone here, missing half of herself. Before sleep had been comforting, even in separate bodies she and Silversong were united in soul and mind and they were themselves in their dreams. 

But now Silversong was gone and Aideen was vacant inside. The emptiness here was colder than the vacuum of space, and it made her yearn all the more for the expanse between stars. But without her whole self she could not be themselves anymore, and she was now physically limited. 

The druids probably thought this was a mercy, keeping her asleep, but she was not human. She was so very different from them that they couldn’t understand she was still aware, if only in a different sense. True, she could not open her eyes or move her body, but she was still alert in her own way. The closest they would explain it would be lucid dreaming, Aideen knew she was unconscious, but she could not wake up.

It was torture, half asleep, half dead, and unable to move. Confined and imprisoned and unable to make them pay for what they did. Unable to protect her chosen brother. Unable to protect the island she had cared for.

But the druids were mistaken if they thought she was now a passive object. She could feel them draining her power, feeding off her energy like leeches, and the fools thought she wasn’t aware of them. She may have been greatly hindered, but she could still operate.

So she extended herself, reaching out to others across the world as she had done so many times before, opening her arms to those in trouble and inviting them to her. She could no longer directly create portals that would save them, but she could still plant ideas, thoughts, dreams, whispers, of a better life elsewhere if they only risked the journey. 

And so people kept coming to her island, this place she created by accident and cultivated on purpose. Her name did not die out, strangers coming to her island seeking out a being of light that had guided them. She would not let the druids erase her. The magic of the island still pulsed, she could barely touch the threads in her mind, but it was enough to give power to the witches, those who still called upon her whole self and had not forgotten Silversong. She felt echoes of the Kallters; they had a new name for her, Tarnersorpoq, the irony of it hurt. If she focused and tried very hard she could almost touch Pandoria, but she could never quite get there. And beyond that was Garnok, out of reach, beyond her touch. 

So she focused on the humans, the people of the planet she could access. As long as she kept drawing people to the island she would never be forgotten, and the druids would not fully control her name. She would not allow the druids to rewrite her legacy and memory. She couldn’t allow it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tarnersorpoq is Greenlandic for "Walks after death"


	12. 11. Stitches - Jessica and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Background: Jessica has been training Rebecca in secret.

“Ah-!” Rebecca twitched and jerked away, the antiseptic stinging her. Jessica snorted and rolled her eyes, holding Rebecca’s arm and trying again.

“That hurt? Out of everything?” Jessica teased, cleaning the gash.

“I expected to get hurt when training,” Rebecca huffed before softening with, “you don’t have to, you know.”

“You’re too tired to heal yourself, especially since you don’t know how,” Jessica pointed out, grinning when Rebecca pouted.

“Yeah, I’m pretty wiped out,” the blonde human acknowledged, looking away when Jessica fished out a needle and suture.

“We did a lot today, you should be exhausted,” Jessica muttered, annoyed by the fact. Stupid human body limitations making Jessica stop. How did humans learn anything? They had to take breaks and got exhausted after several hours of work. It was pathetic.

“Aren’t you going to numb it?” Rebecca asked, leaning away from Jessica and glancing at the needle.

“Right,” Jessica rolled her eyes. Couldn’t even handle a bit of pain. She placed her hand over the gash, pulling the heat from the area and making the skin cold.

“That should work,” Jessica mumbled before she finished getting the suture ready. Rebecca looked away again, not watching as the dark rider stitched her up.

“I would have thought the druids would teach you Star magic,” Jessica commented to make conversation. “Seems like a good way to distract you from offensive magic while still keeping you happy by teaching you something.”

“I doubt they’ll be teaching me anything,” Rebecca grumbled, closing her eyes so she couldn’t see the needle and suture going in and out of her skin in her periphery.

“Oh?” Jessica prompted but was answered with silence. Seems the answer breached their agreement to avoid secrets and information that might hurt their respective sides.

“I think they’re going to exile me,” Rebecca spoke up after several minutes of silence. “They don’t trust me in the very least.”

“Oh?” Jessica repeated, surprised now. The druids couldn’t be foolish enough to actually exile her… right?

“I make a good errand girl, but actually knowing what is going on? They don’t trust me with that. They just want obedience.”

“Is that because you don’t trust them?” Jessica asked, tying off the last suture.

“Why would I? They don’t trust me,” Rebecca scowled, not opening her eyes again until she heard Jessica return the needle and scissors.

“You aren’t terribly trustworthy,” Jessica pointed out, smirking at Rebecca and leaning in.

“I’m not putting my faith into people who never earned it,” Rebecca countered, “I might be more willing to trust them if they hadn’t been super shady from the get go.”

“Perhaps, your different approach to war no doubt also puts you at odds. But do you think they’d really do it? Officially exile you?” Rebecca looked away at the question, chewing her lip for a moment.

“I’m not officially a druid so technically they couldn’t, but they’re already cutting me out,” Rebecca admitted.

“They probably think it’s the safest option for them. You can’t do as much damage if you aren’t a trusted member,” Jessica shrugged though this was bad news for her. The higher into the druid ranks Rebecca could climb the more information Jessica could get from her. With the opposite happening Jessica was losing a valuable insider.

“I guess, you’d think they’d be trying to curry favor with me so I don’t, you know, turn on them.”

“I don’t think they realize how likely you are to turn against them,” Jessica suggested, before leaning in a bit to whisper, “or they don’t realize who you are.”

“Perhaps,” Rebecca sighed, watching Jessica’s lips curl into a grin. “What?”

“Just a thought - when stitches are no longer necessary they are removed, if they don’t dissolve naturally. Seems like a fitting analogy,” Jessica continued to grin after her statement, letting the words sink in before she gave Rebecca a kiss on the cheek, adding, “let me know if you need assistance removing them.”


	13. 12. "Don't Move" - the Dark Riders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place when Katja has just returned to Jorvik.

Katja bit back a whimper of pain. She hadn’t even moved, but just the feeling of being solid and in Jorvik once again tugged at her body, stretching and squeezing in painful ways. The rain stung, little flaming needles against her sensitive skin. A moment later and the rain was gone, Sabine holding an umbrella over her.

“I can-” Katja snarled and tried to stand, hating how weak she was, hating how she could barely move.

“Don’t. You know it takes time,” Jessica chided, standing next to Sabine in the rain.

“I’m fine,” Katja hissed, glaring up at her fellow generals. “I don’t intend to sit here for the next week.”

“You’ll only exhaust yourself more if you move now,” Jessica reminded her but did not prevent her from trying again. Katja didn’t move far, only able to shift her legs and arms to reposition.

“How infuriating,” Katja panted, but the two standing women said nothing.

“I’m tired of this rain,” Katja muttered after the minutes stretched into hours and she was thoroughly soaked despite the umbrella.

“How much can you move?” Jessica asked, watching Katja closely as she moved a bit. With Jessica and Sabine’s help she managed to get to her feet, and held between the two dark haired women was half carried to her room. By the time they got inside Katja was trembling and pale, glad the water concealed her sweat. She stared longingly at her bed, but the pair helping her dropped her in a chair instead.

“This is embarrassing,” Katja grumbled, too weak and exhausted to shoo them away as they pulled off her boots.

“I like when you’re helpless,” Sabine grinned, peeled the jacket off, tossed it aside, and whispered into her ear, “now let’s get you out of these wet clothes…”

“Not the time,” Katja snapped, Sabine snorting. But Katja did what she could to help them undress her. She shivered from the cold, the absence of clothes making it even worse, and Sabine and Jessica helped her into bed.

“Now, don’t move,” Jessica ordered, Katja rolling her eyes.

“I’ll kill that damn Lightning brat…” Katja spat, blaming Alex for this. Alex had banished her to Pandoria after all. 

“You can get your revenge later, now you’ve got to rest,” Jessica shushed her and went into Katja’s closet.

“Hey!” Katja protested, unable to do much as Sabine joined Jessica in the wardrobe.

“I’m soaked, it’s quite unpleasant in this body and these clothes,” Jessica explained with an eyeroll, changing into some of Katja’s clothes. “And if I’m going to keep you company I want to be comfortable.”

“You don’t have to…” Katja looked away, face red in embarrassment. Now she was being watched like a child. Great.

“And when your body gets hungry in a few hours? Or needs to get to the bathroom?” Jessica asked, pulling out her ponytail and letting her hair fall loose. Sabine, now changed like Jessica, laid down next to Katja, adjusting her hair so it draped over the pillow behind her. 

“And we have so much to tell you!” Sabine cooed next to Katja, who groaned and screwed her eyes shut.

“I know, I’ve missed so much… Like that kid. Sands?” Katja looked at Sabine for answers, glancing to her other side as Jessica settled into bed and laid a hand on Katja’s head. There was a pulse of energy and the pain eased somewhat.

“Yeah, thinks just because that’s his grandson the brat will be useful,” Sabine started, going over everything that had happened while Katja was trapped in Pandoria. Jessica kept a hand on Katja at all times, continuously pouring energy into her to help her recover faster. The Generals needed to be at full strength as quickly as possible, there was work to do.


	14. 13. Adrenaline - Midnightwarrior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during/after prompt 6 - Dragged Away. ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125/chapters/50093567 )
> 
> With references to 7 - Isolation https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125/chapters/50093906
> 
> Trigger warning: some body horror

Midnightwarrior could feel Rebecca’s frustration and anger rising, and when he concentrated a bit he could sense through her. Her plan to bring Elizabeth back seemed to have backfired. It had worked, but Elizabeth was less than pleased, which led to the anger. He gave a satisfied snort when Rebecca reached her breaking point, feeling her decision to leave the druids. Finally. He had hoped they would part ways from the druids, even if it would make things more difficult. 

Pain flashed through his connection and Midnight screamed, heart pounding in a jolt of adrenaline. Rage raced through him, and he swore he’d kill every last druid for daring to hurt her.

The stallion shoved into the portal, enraged when it blocked him, automatically keeping out beings too large for Fripp’s room. Panic welled up as he felt a second impact, his link with Rebecca weakening, indicating she was no longer conscious. He bellowed, pushing against the portal, willing it to let him through. It had to!

He fell forward, catching himself on the stone stairs behind the portal. With a look he confirmed his fears: the portal had vanished. He sprinted for the portal back to Valedale, passing through it without issue and racing down the path. Where would they be? Elizabeth’s? Avalon had come, had they teleported to his home? Or where they still in Fripp’s chambers?

Snorting and pawing Midnightwarrior eyed Elizabeth’s house. Rebecca’s senses were going cold. Was she dying? Or were they slowly breaking down their connection?

The dark horse flung himself into Elizabeth’s door, slamming and kicking the door to pieces and checking inside. It was quiet save for him, they weren’t here. Avalon’s was next. 

“Whoa there!” Rhiannon called, trying to flag Midnight down. He darted past and across the bridge. There wasn’t time. He could hear Rhiannon on Nix, and other druids coming out to investigate the noise, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was Rebecca. He couldn’t lose her. Not again.

Avalon’s door shattered, but the yelping inside was from Evergray, not Avalon or Elizabeth.

“Mid-?” Evergray began, the horse spinning away and finding Rhiannon with her lariat at the ready.

“Midnight!” Evergray called, rushing out to see what was going on. He ducked for cover as Midnight shouted in rage, rearing and striking out at Rhiannon.

“Easy, boy!” Rhiannon tried to calm him, the use of magic angering him further. How dare she try to use magic on him! He had to get to Rebecca, their soul bond was shrinking.

“What’s going on?!” Evergray tried to ask Rhiannon, watching as Midnightwarrior fled, Nix and Rhiannon giving chase, Evergray running after.

Midnight, unsure where else to go, headed for the druid prison, bucking down the door as he dodged Rhiannon’s lasso attempts. Nix refused to enter through the small door and did not follow Midnight inside, and by the time Rhiannon dismounted and got inside Midnight had broken his way into the hidden dungeon. But the smells were wrong, Rebecca wasn’t here either. She must still be in Fripp’s chamber, but how was he going to get there without a portal? He had no idea where it was on Jorvik! If it even was on Jorvik.

Rhiannon blocked the exit, staring down the stallion with her lariat at the ready.

“Easy…” Rhiannon tried once more to soothe him. Midnight charged her in response, and she barely made it out of the way. He was running out of time, they were doing something to her, there was just a few threads left between them.

With no other ideas he ran back to the portal, past the druids that tried to rope him, and raced around the spiral.

Snip.

Slip.

Midnightwarrior didn’t feel himself crash to the ground. He felt nothing. She wasn’t there, it was just a void where she was supposed to be. Where his soul was supposed to be.

Around him druids were calling for a vet and Evergray was kneeling next to him, Rhiannon on the other side trying to figure out what happened.

His ear slowly turned to Evergray, scent and hearing coming back before his vision did. Through the cacophony of voices he picked out Evergray’s:

“Midnight, what’s wrong?”

The traitor who couldn’t go home. He had sworn an oath, a lifetime ago.

Evergray’s face paled as he watched Midnightwarrior’s horizontal pupil narrow and shift, pulling in as the black extended vertically. The man took a step back, bowing low as Midnightwarrior got to his feet.

“You’re okay now, easy…” Rhiannon cooed, holding fast to his reins.

“Let him go,” Evergray hissed to Rhiannon, “everyone just… back away.”

“You’re being ridiculous, he needs to be checked by a vet,” Rhiannon scolded, pulling on the reins to lead Midnight. In response to the pressure Midnightwarrior reared up, striking Rhiannon, and bellowing out a horrible screeching noise that made everyone cover their ears.

And then Midnightwarrior was running as fast as he could from Valedale, his body screaming in pain. They took her from him. The pain was overwhelming. He would destroy them for what they did. His bones and muscles spasmed, fighting to change, fighting to stay the same. 

Ydris was surprised by a dark horse bursting into his tent during a rehearsal, the horse sprinting and twitching and skidding to a halt before him. Despite the bulges and rippling in a body fighting to maintain form, Ydris recognized the steed.

“Midnight…?” Ydris breathed, terrified of what this meant. Midnightwarrior reared and a fist gripped Ydris’ coat, hand leading to an arm and a convulsing chest, shuddering shoulders, and a face forced into shape.

“They took her,” Midnightwarrior hissed, trembling as he willed himself into a human shape, Ydris supporting him.

“I want them dead.”


	15. 14. Tear-stained - Connie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (following this storyline - https://archiveofourown.org/works/16207433)  
Trigger warning: torture

Connie held himself, back in a corner of the room, ‘The Presidential Suite’ some guards called it. Despite the name it was a tiny box of a cell with a toilet and nothing else. White walls and white lights surrounded Connie, the light so bright even closing his eyes didn’t fully block it out.

He swallowed hard, rocking himself as he tried to distract himself from his situation. GED thought Rebecca was an eco terrorist and that he had given her information. He’d heard rumors about how ruthless GED was, of course, but he always thought they were exaggerated. But now, here, he realized they were far worse than he could have guessed.

Was he going to die here?

He shrank into himself when the door shifted, creaking open, the weight of the door scraping the floor. Two figures stood there, faceless and nameless.

“I don’t know anything!” Connie cried, shying away as one entered and took hold of him, dragging him from the room and down the hallway. 

“Please! Let me go!” His pleas fell on deaf ears, and Connie struggled as he was brought to an all too familiar room. 

“Intern 24469121, have you any information on known CHILL operative Rebecca Lightknight?” one of the interrogators asked, the other holding Connie before a tank of water.

“No! You have-” Connie’s words were cut off as his head was shoved underwater and held there for half a minute. The interrogation continued, Connie unable to answer any questions and repeatedly punished for it. He didn’t know how long it lasted, maybe it was under an hour, maybe longer, but when the session finished Connie was forced to walk back to his cell. A difficult process, as his feet had been lashed and sliced open.

“Compliance will be rewarded,” he was reminded once more before he was locked in his cell. 

He crawled once more to the corner and huddled there, tears staining his clothes. What was he going to do? Should he tell them lies? If they found out he was lying… Maybe Rebecca really was an eco terrorist… did he deserve this? There was so much Rebecca didn’t tell him, what if… Even if she was an eco terrorist, an organization like GED had to be taken down. 

Connie could not drift off to sleep, the lights too bright and they would occasionally play a screeching beeping that he was sure would drive him mad. And then they’d come back, and drag him away again, despite his cries and vows that he didn’t know anything. Why were they doing this? He had done nothing wrong. They couldn’t do this! It was wrong! It was illegal! Please just let me go and I promise I won’t tell anyone. Please stop just please stop!

The white room started to dance with shadows and shapes, Connie positive he was losing it. It was too bright for there to be shadows. He just needed to sleep… and then the ringing would start up again, piercing and shrill and cutting through his skull and loud enough to drown out his own screams of pain and anger. 

All the while Kembell watched through cameras, the voyeuristic pleasure he originally had fading as the days went on. He thought Rebecca would be his by now, drawn into a trap by this bait. Did she not know her boy toy was here? Did she not notice he was missing? It infuriated the man, and he made sure that frustration was taken out on the boy.


	16. 15. Scars - Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the story line of Rebecca being captured by and later escaping Dark Core.  
Implied PTSD.

Rebecca looked around her room, listening to her family moving about the house. That’s right, she had to get ready to go. She opened her closet, searching through her clothes and dresses and stuffed animals before she picked out an outfit.

“Becky! Come on!” her mother called, and she ran out of her room and outside, noticing for the first time that it was cloudy, spotlights and flickering lights of airplanes on the grey sky. They had to run away, quickly. Her family lifted off the ground and Rebecca jumped up, wings sprouting from her back and pushing her off the ground. She reached out and took her mother’s hand.

“Where is your hand?” her mother asked and Rebecca looked down, her hands a molten white that were dripping away.

Rebecca jerked up from her bed, groaning and rubbing her head as the dream faded. Why were dreams always so weird? In the dim light from her window she could see the streaks of scars on her arms. She screwed her eyes shut and pulled her blanket over her face, determined to fall back asleep.

Instead her mind wandered to her family. So much had happened since coming to Jorvik, and there were so many things she didn’t know how to explain. The magical war, for one, but more obvious was her hands. She could skip over the druids and the magic, but she had no way of covering her hands forever. 

Under the blankets her hands touched, tracing the different textures in the skin denoting normal skin from scar tissue. It wasn’t so bad now, when she first got back from her capture she was sure she wouldn’t be able to use her hands again. Melting metal with your bare hands will do that, and it was only due to extensive magic healing that Rebecca still retained full use of her hands. But the scars…

It had been worse, originally they were a brilliant and angry red. Rebecca had done everything she could to not look at her hands, the sight of them causing a visceral reaction of absolute panic. They had been a far worse trigger than Justin strangely enough. She reasoned it was because she didn’t blame Justin, or at least only held him partially responsible for his actions. He was also a physical reminder of coming back from the darkness. Her hands, however, were a constant reminder of what happened. They showed just how desperate she was to escape, and what pain she was willing to go through in order to survive. 

Her fingers trailed up her arms, feeling the scars winding. Her scars had faded now, accelerated by magic, and were now the silvery gray scars turned over time. But they were going to remain on her forever, too severe to fully go away. She’d either have to wear gloves or deal with the stares and awkward questions for the rest of her life. 

She wondered if she’d ever stop having dreams that focused on her hands, dreams that made her anxious and self conscious, hesitant to look at herself. It’s not like she could go to therapy and try to work through it. How could she possibly explain it? And even if the druids had a proper psychologist she wouldn’t trust them. There wasn’t really anyone she could talk to, no one she trusted enough that also knew enough about the situation to understand. Except maybe Justin, but she knew that’d only upset him. She didn’t want to jeopardize his own recovery by unloading her emotional baggage on him, he’d be consumed with guilt. 

She sat up, sighing in frustration. There wasn’t much chance she’d fall back asleep. She found her gloves in the dark and slipped them on before she turned on the light, starting her day early.


	17. 16. Pinned Down - Rebecca and Midnightwarrior

Rebecca sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the cliff, Midnightwarrior behind relaxing with his head near hers. They looked over south west Jorvik from their perch in the mountains, the same cliff they had come to hear Aideen’s song with Lisa. 

“It’s funny, isn’t it,” Rebecca asked, a rhetorical question. Midnight blew softly on her shoulder.

“Before Jorvik I was floundering and lost. Meeting you felt like I had come home after a long time away, it made this place feel like I belonged,” she lifted her hand, Midnight placing his chin against her fingers, and she scratched.

“We don’t belong here, do we,” she asked with the same tone as before. It was a statement. He snorted, hot breath on her hand, and nudged her shoulder. 

“We can’t leave, can we?” she looked at her steed. He rubbed her cheek in response. She patted his cheek in return, feeling his anger growing. 

“I know, it’s not fair, pinned down when we’re supposed to be up there,” Rebecca turned her head skyward. She couldn’t remember much, but she knew she felt the closest to herself when she and Midnight were flying. There was a twitch in her shoulder blades, matching Midnight shifting his weight. She felt him flexing his shoulders as he recalled the memories of wings. 

Letting out a long breath Rebecca closed her eyes, sensing through Midnight. She was thankful for Ydris’ lessons even though he didn’t remember. They had been bizarre but they had strengthened their bond immensely. They could sense through each other’s bodies with minimal effort, maintaining a low level of shared sensations. Now they were always aware of the other’s emotional state, not just strong emotions. Their shared thoughts were harder to explain, as Midnight did not think the same way humans did. And yet they understood each other’s thoughts perfectly.

Rebecca scooted back, Midnightwarrior giving her space to stand. He held still while she untacked him, and kneeled down so she could easily mount up. She sighed and hugged his neck, burying her face in his mane.

“We’re not supposed to be like this,” she muttered and he knew what she meant. They weren’t supposed to be separate. They were one soul, forced into two bodies against their will. 

“I want to go home,” she sighed, feeling worse now that she said it out loud. Jorvik wasn’t home. Earth wasn’t home. But now they were trapped, human and horse, no longer able to leave this planet.


	18. 17. "Stay with me" - Jessica and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following prompt 13 - Adrenaline (https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125/chapters/50095154 )  
tw: language

Dark Core was caught off guard when two figures appeared on their supposedly secure rig. The news they brought and the offer they extended was even more surprising: Midnightwarrior wanted an alliance to destroy the Keepers as revenge for taking Rebecca. It would have been laughable, Darko actually did laugh, except the older members of Dark Core recognized the dark human standing next to the Pandorian.

Darko realized it wasn’t a joke when Laverne dropped to his knees, hand over his chest in a show of respect and allegiance. Sabine and Katja glanced to each other but gave their signs of respect. Sands remained suspicious and guarded, and Jessica stepped forward. Midnightwarrior met her gaze, and Jessica saw all she needed.

So it came as quite a surprise when Jessica, shopping at the mall for some sort of distraction, saw a familiar face.

“Rebecca…?” her trembling voice caught the woman by surprise, and she looked at Jessica. Jessica swallowed hard, there was such innocence in those blue eyes she was staring into.

“I’m sorry… do I know you?” Rebecca asked, giving a polite smile.

“I…” Jessica choked, words not forming at first, “you’re Rebecca, right?”

“Yup! Pleasure to meet you!” Rebecca stuck her hand out, and Jessica shook it. “How can I help?”

Jessica fought back her anger, instead forcing a pleasant smile on her face as she said, “willing to help, just as I’ve heard!”

“I guess I’ve got a reputation,” Rebecca blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

“It’s a good one,” Jessica offered, flattering, “I was wondering if you could help me with something?”

“Of course!” Rebecca’s eagerness hurt Jessica to see. She had always been so eager to help, it got her into trouble.

“Help me carry some of these bags? I have a bit of a walk,” Jessica didn’t finish her request before Rebecca was taking the bags from her arms.

“Sure! I just finished helping out around here, so I can help you now! Where am I taking the bags?”

“I live a couple blocks away, too close to justify a bus,” Jessica lied. Dark Chord was nearby, that would work just fine. Rebecca followed, willing and trusting of strangers, perfectly happy to walk beside Jessica as she hummed a bit.

Jessica watched her out of the corner of her eye, torn between what she should do. The druids had done something to make her forget, some sort of reset or reprogramming or something. It wasn’t difficult to do with magic, so long as you knew what you were doing, and Jessica knew the druids had done it to others. Was it something that she could fix? Should she risk it? Katja was better at memory and mind manipulation. But how was she going to keep Rebecca in one place until Katja arrived? 

Rebecca’s pocket buzzed and she pulled out her phone, checking it.

“How much farther?” Rebecca asked, curious.

“Got somewhere to be?” Jessica deflected the question.

“Just someone who needs help, I should try to get to them as soon as possible,” Rebecca explained.

“We can drop this off at my job, it’s closer than my place. Work is just a half a block away,” Jessica pointed, Rebecca trying to guess which building she was supposed to be looking at.

“You’re lucky! Working so close to home!” Rebecca’s chipper spirit left a bad taste in Jessica’s mouth. It felt so fake and wrong now, it wasn’t really her. Rebecca was supposed to be bright and smiling despite her troubles, not because she no longer remembered. 

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Jessica lied, fishing out a keycard to get through Dark Chord’s security.

“Whoa, what do you do?” Rebecca asked, eyes bright and sparkling and so very innocent as she looked at the building Jessica was walking into.

“Ehh, this and that,” Jessica shrugged and nodded, “come on in.”

“I do need to be going soon,” Rebecca reminded her but followed her into the elevator.

“Just need to drop these bags off, please?” Jessica gave an emploring look, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Of course!” Rebecca reassured her, even though there was no getting out of the elevator. Jessica fished out her phone and texted Katja, praying she could stall. Of course, if it came down to it Jessica could forcibly prevent Rebecca from leaving.

“So, you don’t remember me?” Jessica asked, watching Rebecca carefully.

“Sorry… no. Where did we meet?” Rebecca looked genuinely guilty.

“On the Dark Core platform,” Jessica prompted, Rebecca confused. The elevator doors opened and Rebecca continued to follow Jessica.

“The what?”

“You really don’t remember?”

“I’ve never been to a Dark Core platform,” Rebecca insisted with a shrug and looked at the room Jessica was entering. “So… anywhere in here?”

“Right there is fine,” Jessica pointed to the corner and closed the door once Rebecca was inside, dropping the bags on the floor.

“There!” Rebecca declared, dramatically clapping her hands in a job well done, “It was a pleasure helping! Now-”

“Wait, I need something else,” Jessica insisted, Rebecca glancing from her to the door she was standing in front of.

“Okay… as long as it’s quick, I really do need to get going…” Rebecca said slowly, wary now.

“Do you remember Midnightwarrior?”

“Who?”

Jessica hissed under her breath. They even removed him from her mind?

“Dark stallion, a Jorvik Warmblood, your horse? Ringing any bells?” Jessica pushed, Rebecca shaking her head.

“I think you are confusing me with someone else…” Rebecca suggested, growing uncomfortable.

“No, I’m not. You have to remember me!” Jessica insisted, walking forward.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know you!” Rebecca apologized, edging around the wall toward the door.

“Yes you do!” Jessica blocked Rebecca’s path, her hands pinning Rebecca to the wall. “And I know you!”

“I don’t-”

“When the druids cut you out I trained you-”

“What are you…?”

“We had plans together, and you were starting to remember your past life!”

“My what?”

“You were remembering me- you have to remember me!”

“I’ve got to go…” Rebecca sank down, trying to slip under Jessica’s arm to get to the door.

“No!” Jessica snarled, grabbing Rebecca and pinning her to the wall, “Stay with me! Just for a little bit! Please! I know you’ll remember- I won’t lose you again!” Jessica insisted, hating how Rebecca looked up at her in fear.

“Just stay… stay for a little bit,” Jessica’s frantic insistence turned to begging, “Please…” she let go of one of Rebecca’s arms so she could stroke Rebecca’s face. She could feel Rebecca’s racing pulse, hear the quickened breath.

“I’m not who you want,” Rebecca whimpered, pale now. 

“You will be,” Jessica pet Rebecca’s hair, knowing Katja was on her way. She was startled when Rebecca shoved her, arms flailing to keep balance, the bags she had dropped on the floor causing her to fall.

“Sorry!” Rebecca called as she sprinted out the door, running as fast as she could.

“No! No no no!” Jessica scrambled after, watching the elevator doors close, Rebecca cowering inside the elevator.

“Fuck!” Jessica slammed her fists into the closed doors, metal denting at the impact. She slid to the ground, hands on her knees as she growled to herself. But this was good. Rebecca was alive, just mixed up in the head. They could work with that. And now she was extremely impressionable. Jessica knew she couldn’t do it, she’d blown it, but one of the others could gain her trust. She took a deep breath, fighting every impulse to punch the door again. No point in breaking the elevator over this, not when she could break spines instead. And Jessica planned on breaking as many druids as she could get her hands on.


	19. 18. Muffled Scream - Justin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be the Druids doing mind-interrogation/torture but I know it's very unclear and appears to be DC doing the damage but I spent way too long on this so it is what it is.
> 
> Trigger warning: torture, blood, gore

Justin shot up in bed, hand going to his mouth to muffle his scream. It wasn’t real? He looked himself over but saw no signs of injury, and nothing in his cell had changed. It was just a nightmare.

He groaned and laid back down, exhausted despite having just been asleep. The nightmares had plagued him ever since the druids had arrested him, and he still had no idea when he’d actually be put on trial. Something had happened, he didn’t know what, but the guards were especially jumpy for some reason. No one had come to visit him though, not Elizabeth nor that blue squirrel. What was its name? 

There was a second set of footsteps in the hallway, different from the regular patrolling guard, and Justin looked through the bars of his cell, curious. A cloaked figure appeared and watched Justin for a moment. 

“Is it time for my trial?” Justin asked, hopeful that this was almost over.

“What can you tell us about Dark Core’s plans?” the cloaked figure asked and Justin sighed. He had hoped to get out of this cell for a bit.

“Not much,” Justin muttered before he told the druid everything he knew.

“Come on, that’s not all of it,” the voice beside him made him jump, and Justin saw Rebecca sitting next to him.

“When did-”

“You know more, don’t you?” Rebecca pressed, giving him a playful nudge.

“No… that’s all I know, I wasn’t exactly in their inner circle,” Justin looked down sheepishly, “I wish I could be more help.”

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short!” a hand on his back and a new voice startled him again, Sabine sitting on his other side. Memories of her flickered in his mind, his heart starting to race.

“I-”

“Yes, little traitor, go on…” Katja whispered in his ear, sitting where Rebecca had been moments before. 

“You’re not-” Justin jumped up from his cot, backing away from the women, “you’re not really here.”

“Justin, I’m surprised by you,” Sabine placed a hand over her heart in mock hurt, pouting a bit.

“Silly boy, we’re always with you,” Jessica’s voice came from behind him, hands reaching around his chest and pinning him to the bars of his cell door.

“No! I got away! I left!” Justin struggled, unable to break free from Jessica’s grasp.

“‘Got away’? ‘Left’? Grandson, don’t you know where we are?” Justin couldn’t see his grandfather or figure out where the voice was coming from.

Jessica’s fingers curved, stabbing pain making Justin scream and look down as claws dug into his chest and tore him open. Blood gushed from the opening, bones snapping as Jessica ripped open his ribcage, streaks of black swirling in the red pouring from his chest. In the growing pool of blood Justin could see his reflection.

“I’ll always be with you,” his reflection said in his grandfather’s voice, the face bubbling and churning as it reformed into the all too familiar face of Mr. Sands.

“No! I’m not-cough- you! I’ll never -cough-cough-” Justin choked, his words cut off as he gagged, thick black liquid rising in his throat and from his mouth. He couldn’t breathe, the black swirling around him, smothering him. Justin tried to fight it, tried to pull away, tried to swim out of it, but found himself in darkness. A single dot of light became his guide, and he ran toward it. Anything had to be better than this.

“Justin?” Rebecca lifted her head, surprised to see him. His heart stopped, the familiar scene paralyzing him with fear. There she was, chained to the wall, caught on the Dark Core rig.

“The druids have brainwashed her. Go on, free her,” Mr. Sands stood next to him and offered his grandson a cattle prod.

“No! This isn’t real!” Justin screamed, backing away.

“Not real?” Rebecca said, surprised, suspended before him. 

“This wasn’t real?” she asked again, blood appearing on her clothes and face. 

“You’re saying this isn’t real?” she was angry now, glaring at him, “you didn’t do this to me?!”

“I-” Justin looked at the electric cattle prod in his hands and dropped it.

“You liked it, didn’t you?” a voice whispered and Justin put his hands over his ears.

“That little seed of darkness, it was always there, show me?” the voice asked again.

“No!” Justin hissed, feeling something creep along his spine into his brain. The memory of black tentacles wrapping around him flooded him.

“Show me!” the voice demanded. His head felt like there was a fire inside of it, burning him alive.

“No! You’re not real!” Justin refused. It felt like his skull was an open bowl and someone was mixing his brain up, digging and tearing and looking for something. He fought as best he could, flailing against the tendrils that tried to wrap around and inside him, hands finding something.

“Show me!” the voice screamed, Justin panicking and stabbing the object into the creature.

“Justin?” Rebecca’s voice was so soft, her face so surprised. “What have you done?”

Justin looked down, the cattle prod in his hand clear through Rebecca’s chest.

“Oh gods-” Justin let go, horrified as he looked at Rebecca. Pain shot through his chest, suddenly in Rebecca’s place.

Justin shot up in bed, hand going to his mouth to muffle his scream. It wasn’t real? He looked himself over but saw no signs of injury and he was back in his cell. It was just a nightmare.

He groaned and laid back down, exhausted despite having just been asleep. Nightmares had plagued him ever since his arrest, and he wondered if he’d ever be able to sleep soundly again. There was also the concern of the trial, no one had come to visit him so he had no idea how much longer it would be.

There was a second set of footsteps in the hallway, different from the regular patrolling guard, and Justin looked through the bars of his cell. A cloaked figure appeared and watched Justin for a moment. 

“Is it time for my trial?” Justin asked, hopeful.

“What can you tell us about Dark Core’s plans?” the cloaked figure asked and Justin sighed.


	20. 19. Asphyxiation - Darko and Mr. Sands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: choking/asphyxiation

Darko was uppity lately, a change in behavior Mr. Sands was not a fan of. Playing in the big leagues for a bit had gone to Darko’s head, and he was doing a poor job of concealing his disrespect. He knew Darko had ambitions, he wouldn’t have been at Dark Core otherwise, and the man knew he needed to remind Darko of his place sooner rather than later.

Mr. Sands was not surprised when Darko was late when summoned, another subtle sign of arrogance, and gave him a critical glare when he finally entered the meeting room. Darko scanned the room quickly and noticed they were alone, something he had not expected.

“What do you want?” Darko asked, Mr. Sands tilting his head up just a hair. Not even a proper address. 

“Seems you’ve forgotten something,” Mr. Sands said, watching as Darko opened his mouth and found no words. The younger man gasped, clutching at his throat, face slowly turning red.

“A few decades of experience and you start getting ideas,” Mr. Sands continued, hand on the table he walked around, slowly approaching Darko who was rising into the air.

“Ideas that maybe you’d be better at this. Ideas that I’m just an old man, or the Generals are just girls,” Mr. Sands clicked his tongue, tsk-ing the thought as he arrived in front of Darko, just far enough away that Darko’s flailing legs couldn’t reach.

“But what you’ve failed to remember is that I am far more experienced. I have my position for a reason,” Mr. Sands watched with a slight grin as Darko choked, struggling to remain conscious.

“And you? Well,” Darko was slammed to the ground, the invisible force strangling him pinning him to the floor, Mr. Sands looking down at him, “let’s just say you’re not the first little wizard we’ve had, nor will you be the last.”

Mr. Sands smiled when he finished, cruel and taking pleasure in Darko’s shuddering as his eyes began to roll back.

“Don’t forget,” Mr. Sands bid and let the magic block dissipate, stepping over Darko to leave the room as he gasped and coughed, able to breath once more.


	21. 20. Trembling - Lisa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: panic attack  
Spoiler warning for story quests

Lisa wasn’t sure what caused it, one minute she was sorting her room and the next she was grasping her chair to keep from falling. The chair shook from how hard she was trembling, her heart racing, her breath short desperate gasps. All Lisa knew was she was going to die. She was going to suffocate, her lungs refused to take in air, her body covered in a cold sweat, the sound of her own gasping deafening. 

She managed to get to her bed and curl up, getting her favorite blanket and burying her face and twisting her hands through the material. Being on her side may have been a mistake, her stomach churning and bile bubbling up the back of her throat. Her chest became a knot of pain, constricting and choking and racing and she couldn’t think there was too much to process and she was dying. 

Fighting the panic, the fear, the certainty she was about to die, she took a shaky breath of the blanket, doing her best to smell it. Memories and thoughts continued to run rampant in her brain, too fast and chaotic to be processed, but gradually the texture of the fuzzy blanket and its smell soaked in.

Lisa gripped the blanket, curled in fetal position on her bed, until her breathing was almost normal. When she sat up she did so slowly, wincing when the dizziness still hit despite her caution. After a few moments to adjust she got up, blanket now wrapped around her shoulders, as she went to get a glass of water.

As she drank she wondered what had caused the attack. She hadn’t had a panic attack that bad in months. But of course with all the new things happening, the kidnappings, the losses… It was no surprise Lisa’s anxiety had returned. 

For several long minutes she just sat in the kitchen, drinking water and staring at her phone, debating in her head whether or not she should mention her panic attack and if so to who. Anne was beginning her recovery process from her experience, Alex was taking the death of Elizabeth the hardest, which left Linda the least recently and dramatically traumatized. Lisa winced at the logic, sad that she could consider kidnapping and imprisonment in a dungeon for weeks the least traumatic things her friends had been through recently.

Lisa took a steadying breath, her phone shaking a bit in her hands, and she typed out a message to Linda. She couldn’t talk to a therapist or her father, and she didn’t trust any of the druids enough, so she would have to rely on her friend for support.


	22. 21. Laced Drink - Soul Riders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the Broken Seals story idea. Takes place after the events of Starshine Legacy.

Alex waved to Lisa when she saw her, beckoning her over to the table.

“Hey! So, Valedale?” Lisa asked as she sat down, looking around the unfamiliar cafe and town.

“Yeah, seemed like a good change of pace!” Alex shrugged, “I put in an order for drinks, I think I got something you’ll like.”

“Thanks! What did you want to talk about?” Lisa asked. Alex had invited her out for drinks but hadn’t given a reason.

“Just wanted to hang out, you’ve been busy,” Alex pointed out, “how’s the music going?”

“Ugh, music school is just as dramatic as regular school,” Lisa groaned.

“Wouldn’t the drama department make it more-”

“You know what I mean,” Lisa rolled her eyes, Alex smirking. They spent a few minutes catching up before a server arrived with drinks, and part way through their beverages the conversation turned to old times.

“Crazy to think how much has changed since you came to Jorvik,” Alex said with a laugh, Lisa joining in as their eyes faded just a bit.

“I still remember how you looked when you first road Starshine. Looked like true love,” Alex continued, encouraged by Lisa’s nodding.

“Amazing how meeting a horse could change everything,” Lisa acknowledged.

“Thank goodness for the Keepers,” Alex didn’t notice the look of confusion on Lisa’s face.

“Keepers…?” Lisa asked, slowly, trying to figure out what Alex meant.

“You know, the ones who taught us everything?” Alex prodded. Lisa smiled, it was familiar to her but she couldn’t quite remember. 

“You took to it fast, if I recall correctly,” a voice from behind made Lisa turn.

“Elizabeth!” Alex chirped, noticing the druid at the table next to them. Lisa looked at Elizabeth carefully, blinking slowly. Elizabeth. Of course. She continued to watch and listen as Elizabeth recounted their early meeting, their training, how the druids were by their side every step of the way. The more Elizabeth spoke the more Lisa remembered. 

The next day Elizabeth was at the cafe once more, watching Lisa and Alex arrive before Linda. They ordered for the three of them, and Elizabeth made sure the drinks did not go out before she could add some important ingredients. In the stable of Valedale, where the Soul Steeds were, the same process was repeated to ensure that the steeds had the same memories as their riders. She did not relax until Anne and Concorde were also treated. The Keepers needed the Soul Riders to trust them, and they didn’t have time to build that trust the traditional way. Desperate times called for desperate measures.


	23. 22. Hallucination - Linda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during Linda's imprisonment by The Baroness, the length of which is unclear as SSO and the comics give confusing information.   
Trigger warnings - imprisonment

Normally being surrounded by books was a comfort to Linda, but it was hard to forget where she was with the cold and the smell. The Baroness had provided books to keep her happy but Linda was still a prisoner. She couldn’t figure out why The Baroness had her abducted and locked away. But surely someone was looking for her, Meteor would have notified the others, they would notice her missing. Right?

“Oh, that’s funny!” Sabine giggled at Linda’s thoughts.

“Of all the people to hallucinate,” Linda grumbled, focusing on banishing Sabine. After several minutes of concentration Sabine vanished from her spot on the table. A perk of Linda’s powers was being able to dispel hallucinations, usually. Downside, Linda noticed she hallucinated a lot more as she grew in power. Seemed part of the illusionary power of the Moon was the subconscious conjuring up hallucinations, though with more control than someone suffering from illness.

For some reason it was Sabine who manifested, chosen by some subconscious feelings Linda did not understand. Mostly the imaginary Sabine sat and watched Linda, which wasn’t surprising as most of the time Linda found herself staring at the wall. Each passing hour added to her anxiety that somehow no one knew where she was, despite the trail she left. Sabine offered her tissues when she was unable to hold back sobs, the imaginary woman sneering with her imaginary offering. Linda could only deduce that Sabine was on her mind because Sabine had come to the Silverglade stables, but why her mind picked Sabine as her companion in prison she could not understand. 

She just hoped that someone would get her out of this dungeon soon, before she truly went mad.


	24. 23. Bleeding Out - Aideen and Silversong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw character death

She hit the ground hard, not feeling the cuts and bruises as she rolled. The only thing she felt was the searing pain through her chest. In a desperate rush she was back on her feet, scrambling to her soul. Silversong, her soul, looked at her, panic flooding them as the energy faded from him.

“No no no-” she begged, trying to heal the long bolt through his chest, his body heaving as he tried to breath. Their thoughts raced, knowing this was wrong, this wasn’t supposed to happen, this shouldn’t be possible, no human knew how-

He moved his head to her, nudging her as he panted, and she carefully lifted his head into her lap, their tears mixing on the ground.

And then her heart, her soul, her self, died.

She stayed there, sitting perfectly still, his head on her lap, her hands on his cheek and neck, her tears streaming down her face. 

The sun set. The stars came out.

She looked to the sky, their home. They were going to return, once they saved their chosen brother. And now they couldn’t. They had killed him. They had killed her. 

They would pay. Their stupid, petty, frivolous war ended now.

Her scream rippled throughout the island, the mountain path she was on cracking, their tears seeping into the rock and then bursting forth in a torrent, turning into a waterfall. She reached for the ocean, for her chosen brother, and pulled. Her fist slammed into the ground, the island shaking and falling away, sinking into the ocean as it surged up over the land, flooding and destroying everything in its path.

She had created this island by accident, now she would destroy it on purpose. The druids’ war would end in the destruction of this island and everyone on it.


	25. 24. Secret Injury - Midnightwarrior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the story line in prompt 13 - Adrenaline  
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125/chapters/50095154

Midnightwarrior found it difficult to stay in human form, as his other half was not consenting to the transformation and thus was not also shifting form. After his initial shift he forced himself into to speak with Ydris and Dark Core he had allowed himself to return to his horse body.

Dark Core was now watching over him, the Generals personally checking on him regularly, Jessica the most often. She found him rubbing his chest as best he could, as though trying to deal with an itch.

“Here,” she offered her hand after placing the food she had brought, and scratched the spot he was trying to reach. He sighed heavily, skin twitching at her touch. He occasionally had an irritation in his chest that turned into pain when Rebecca was hurt. It was no longer a mystery to him, thanks to the encouragement from their trainers and the druids’ severing their connection Midnight understood what was bothering his chest.

The first time he died had been a chest injury. A bolt through the chest, made of energy and magic toxic enough to prevent healing. It had been a declaration of war against Aideen and himself, and he regretted that she had to wage that war alone. He had only just begun to remember with Rebecca, and now it had flipped. This time she was the one lost, and he was the one waging a war. 

He grimaced and nudged away Jessica’s hand, the touch aggravating the pain. She let him and left her hand on his nose.

“I know,” she muttered, petting his soft nose, “feeling yourself die…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, blinking hard and focusing on petting him. Midnight nudged her. Rebecca wanted to help Jessica find her horse once more. The other horses reincarnated, and she and Midnight had reincarnated, so why not Regicide? But with the new circumstances, Midnight doubted he’d be able to help Jessica.

He snorted softly, rubbing her cheek with his muzzle. She sniffled, trying to hold back tears as she buried her face in his mane. 

“We’re going to kill them for what they did,” Jessica swore, voice thick. Midnightwarrior stomped his hoof in agreement.


	26. 25. Humiliation - Justin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follows the story line that Rebecca leaves the druids, found here -   
http://archiveofourown.org/works/7866757/chapters/17966164

“She’s still gone?” Justin asked, feeling timid and embarrassed. Rebecca still wasn’t back after the druid trial that decided she was too violent. She had stormed out and told Justin not to follow when he tried to apologize and comfort her. It had been his fault, if he just kept his mouth shut about her kallstone experiments…

“Yes,” Elizabeth’s strained voice made Justin glance away and look at his tea. Elizabeth had offered him some when she saw him wandering around Valedale, looking for Rebecca. Now Justin regretted accepting the offer, uncomfortable with how Elizabeth looked at him.

“It’s not like the experiments were bad…” Justin muttered, fiddling with his spoon.

“Justin-”

“It’s my fault she’s pissed and gone. If I had just kept my mouth shut…” Justin grumbled, knowing Elizabeth wouldn’t agree. She had been the one to think that Rebecca’s experiments were awful, even though Justin had seen nothing wrong. That’s why he had talked about them in the first place, he didn’t realize Elizabeth would flip out.

“You did the right thing Justin,” Elizabeth soothed, swirling her tea and taking a sip before she added, “though you are to blame.”

He shrunk down in his seat at that, cheeks turning red.

“The trauma you and your grandfather put her through did terrible damage,” Elizabeth explained, giving Justin a critical look, “and the darkness in you, that you expose her to whenever you hang out with her-”

“That’s-!” Justin tried to protest, wanting to deny it. But was Elizabeth right? He couldn’t finish his sentence, not sure what to say.

“Your presence is a constant reminder to a truly horrible experience, full of violence and pain. I should not have been surprised that you would influence her in this way,” Elizabeth sighed in disappointment, though he wasn’t sure if it was directed at him or herself. Based on the look she gave him it was disappointment in him.

“I did this to her…?” Justin asked, voice barely audible. How could he ask that? Of course he had. If it hadn’t been for him, if he hadn’t gone to his grandfather…

“Choices have consequences, and these are the consequences of yours. I only hope your actions don’t result in Dark Core winning,” Elizabeth said before sighing, turning to look out the window as she muttered, “so much at stake… so many lives… we may have already lost Rebecca because of you…”

Justin swallowed hard and put the teacup down.

“Don’t like the taste?” Elizabeth asked. Justin wondered if she meant the tea or the bile in his throat, the guilt eating him alive. 

“Thank you for the tea,” Justin mumbled and excused himself. He needed to get away, he needed air, he couldn’t stand how Elizabeth was looking at him.

Eyes were on Justin as soon as he stepped outside, the redness returning to his face. The stares of judgement, pity, disgust, and the whispers. Gods they were whispering to each other as they looked at him. They all knew. All the druids knew what he did. He ducked his head and walked quickly away, desperate to escape the shame and humiliation. All of this was his fault.


	27. 26. Abandoned - Anne

The cold shell around her formed a comforting barrier, and Anne was thankful for the crystal she had woven around herself. After the first few days (was it days?) she had created this little safe space to hide in, knowing she just had to hold out for another day or two.

The others would come, they would be here soon. 

Dark Core kept her trapped, and some new wizard she was unfamiliar with tried to get to her inside her crystal. She wasn’t sure how long he spent, but eventually she felt his magic creeping around her, touching her directly. It was testing, feeling for something, and she hated it. They already had her imprisoned, did they have to invade her private space as well? Couldn’t they just leave her alone?

But just a few more days… her friends would be here soon.

Darko, she found out his name because he gloated constantly, was getting to her. The pink crystal encasing her protected her from much of Pandoria, but he was doing something to her. She felt her magic reacting to him, and he was pleased with the results. There was a tugging inside her, she could feel the thin veil between Jorvik and Pandoria weakening, her own powers tearing through. 

Surely now her friends knew she was in Pandoria. They must know where she was. They had to be on their way… just a few more days. 

She felt Lisa come to Pandoria, and hope surged through her. But time continued to pass, and Lisa did not come for Anne. Darko revealed in another gloating session that Lisa had been trapped just like her. But when Lisa escaped Anne knew.

Anne knew her friends would come for her. Just a few more days. Just a little longer. 

Just a few more days (why weren’t they here yet?). They’d come any day now (where were they?). They had gotten Lisa out of Pandoria, she was next (they had to know she was here, where else could she be?). Surely they would come at any moment (why wasn’t Concorde hurrying them up?). They had to come at any moment (why hadn’t Concorde come for her?). Any moment (why hadn’t they come?).

By the time an unfamiliar presence drew close, a stranger, Anne knew she was alone. They weren’t coming for her, Anne had not felt the presence of any friends or druids she knew since Lisa left. Lisa must have known, must have felt her, and the only reason Lisa and the others wouldn’t have charged back into Pandoria to rescue her was because they weren’t going to. She was abandoned, left to rot in her crystal.


	28. 27. Ransom - Kembell and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following prompt 5 - Gunpoint and 14 - Tear-stained
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125/chapters/50059541  
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20856125/chapters/50123372

Kembell had originally planned on killing Rebecca. Slowly, of course, make her suffer and beg for it long before he let her die. But then a curious thing had happened that made him reconsider.

“Are you going to give me to Dark Core?” she had asked, trembling and full of fear as she sat obediently in the back of the van. 

It had prompted a little investigation, and he found out Dark Core was also interested in her. Seemed she’d been a busy little eco terrorist, targeting not just one but two of the largest companies on Jorvik. This made her significantly more valuable beyond his own personal revenge scheme, and could earn him favor with Dark Core. There were whispers that Drake had managed an agreement with Dark Core, and Kembell was not about to be outdone. 

The little intern had broken down when he saw Rebecca, Kembell sneering as he thrashed and kicked as Rebecca switched places with him. It was endearing how she promised him it would be fine, and how she had glared at Kembell. Stupid girl thought she’d somehow get him back for hurting her boy toy. 

After getting proof that he had her he contacted Dark Core to arrange something. He was pleasantly surprised when he heard back within an hour that they were interested. He didn’t like the unspoiled part, and decided to counter with a better deal for him. After all, he explained to them, she had information that was vital to GED, and she would need some encouragement before giving it up. The offer Dark Core made for her safety made Kembell swear out loud, dumbfounded at his desk as he processed the sheer amount of money offered for her. 

He had expected a trade or agreement, not a ransom offer in the millions. 

The promise of wealth kept her from harm, and she was quickly shuttled to a private location in the harbor. She was blindfolded, gagged, and restrained, but she perked up when she smelled the air as she was hoisted out of the van. Kembell would have wondered why if he wasn’t so preoccupied looking for the Dark Core people he was supposed to meet for this exchange.

A young woman appeared, flanked by Dark Core thugs, one holding a briefcase. Kembell refrained from sneering at the young lady, not wanting to upset this deal now.

“I didn’t expect an intern,” Kembell muttered, Rebecca’s head turning a bit at that.

“Give us the girl,” the young woman dressed in black with bright eyes demanded.

“Money first,” Kembell countered, holding fast to Rebecca’s arm. The black haired woman tilted her head and the man holding the briefcase presented it, opening it to show the cash.

“And you’re employers-” Kembell began and was cut off.

“You’ll get what is coming to you,” she said, “Dark Core owes you a favor.”

“Good,” Kembell said and extended his hand for the cash. She tilted her head again and the thug holding the briefcase approached, his hand reaching for Rebecca when he got close. With the hand off completed Kembell nodded his head and headed back toward the van.

“I thank your boss for this!” Kembell called over his shoulder, shaking the briefcase for emphasis, “this’ll make things-” his voice trailed off as he caught the black haired woman removing the restraints from Rebecca. He paused and turned to look back properly, his jaw dropping as Rebecca smiled at him and waved.

“He better be safe and released! Or else!” Rebecca called, the black haired woman hooking her arm around Rebecca’s waist.

“So, you’ve got a bunch of GED secrets I hear…” Jessica said loud enough for Kembell to hear, grin wicked as she savored his dumbfounded expression.

“Oh yes! Make sure my friend is safe-”

“Of course! I’m sure Kembell wouldn’t want to be found guilty of kidnapping, torture, fraud…” her grin widened, Kembell swallowing hard as he got into the van, feeling cold. When he got his hands on Rebecca he was going to kill her. How dare she make a fool of him!

But he had made a pretty penny on her, Kembell took that as consolation.

At least until he found out the bills were counterfeit, and he had to hastily explain why he had a few million worth of counterfeit shillings. 

Instead of being able to take his anger out on Rebecca’s precious intern, Kembell found out Connie had been released, order of the Chairman, with a sharp reprimand for the physical injury caused to the boy.


	29. 28. Beaten - Garnok

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to some of Garnok's (vague) backstory

He was called a god. He was worshipped. He was the center of an entire civilization.

He was trapped. They were feeding on him, using him to power everything they did.

When the confines of his prison rattled from the outside he knew he had a chance to escape, and so he put all his energy into it. He radiated it out, determined to destroy everything around him so he could finally be free.

They were waiting.

The new prison he was forced into was not the same as before, the confines were different, a different technology. This one hurt, it sucked his energy out and tried to suppress it, weakening him. This new enemy was different, they did not revere him, he did not feel the same presence as the priestesses from before. This enemy sought to kill him.

He could feel traces of his priestesses, he could feel them near, they were captives as well. They had been his enemy, his captors, but he knew they would be useful to freeing him. They had a common enemy now.

The small world that was his prison shook and he knew they were falling, crashing, going down. But the containment was solid, and he did not feel a crack.

Once more he had to wait, but when cracks appeared they were quickly sealed, pain searing over him as he was chained, over and over and over with new restraints. Constricted, trapped, his energy being drained, he remained in darkness, beaten into submission. But he was eternal, and he could not be fully destroyed. He had only to wait.

But they had managed to trap him, what if they could kill him? He just wanted out, he just wanted to go home.


	30. 29. Numb - Garnok

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the previous prompt Beaten (I realize it's very similar oops too late now)

A creature made of energy is not meant to be confined. Forcing a star into a prison to use it for fuel was dangerous and damaging, and he had been bound for eons. Crushed and crippled he remained in darkness, in a void so different from his home. He had known energy, light, and the endless expanse of the universe, but here? It was too small, too dark, too devoid of energy. 

He was so alone. His kind was not a social species, but the lack of any interaction drove him mad. His worshippers tried to connect to him, but they were so small and fleeting and so unlike him they were not company. He needed to be with planets, stars, with the things that made up the universe. He wasn’t meant to be here.

It hurt. Everything hurt. He just wanted it to stop, but he was not a creature that could simply cease to exist. That was the curse of eternity, to forever exist regardless of pain. 

The binds constricted him, cutting off feeling to himself. He had once been so large, and he would have grown so much more, but now he did not even know if he had all of his form. To be suspended yet floating, lost in a void that squeezed too tight, was not something his captors could understand. He doubted they cared. The first captors thought he was a god, a being they could worship in exchange for rewards. There was no rewards, only what they could take from him. The second captors tried to bleed him dry, drain him of everything. Were they trying to kill him? Or were they more greedy than his first captors?

He was so alone. It hurt. He curled in on himself as best he could, trying to block out the pain, the tethers, the chains, everything that hurt. He couldn’t be alone or hurt if he couldn’t feel anything. They couldn’t hurt him anymore if he just went numb, as lifeless and unfeeling as the ones who held him prisoner.


	31. 30. Recovery - Garnok, Aideen, and Silversong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the previous prompts Beaten and Numb.

He had long gone numb from the isolation, so the bright light approaching him felt like it was burning and made him stir. Even more surprising, the light could see him, and he could see the light for what it was. 

The light reached out, splitting into two forms but remained the same creature, one half shining bright and the other half a void swallowing all light.

“Garnok?” the Bright Half asked, the voice ringing through him. It brought back a flood of memories of home, of the nursery, and there was such a relief. He fell into their arms, sobbing, unable to form words after such a long time in silence.

Aideen wanted to cry and rage and scream, furious as she held the weeping child as best she could, Garnok’s chains preventing her from truly reaching him. But he was so scared and desperate he didn’t seem to notice. How long had the druids had him like this? How long had Fripp’s people? Or Garnok’s Cult? This was not the evil entity bent on the total destruction of the universe that Fripp had told her about. This was a child. 

“I’m here,” Silversong whispered, enveloping Garnok, feeding him energy as best as he could through the barrier. Fury had to wait, it would not help Garnok to feel such things. Garnok tried to form words, tried to beg for help, but it was not necessary.

“I’ll get you out of here,” they swore, feeling Garnok’s confusion. He could sense that they could not take him now, they were not really there, the prison was still too strong.

“I was hurt,” they answered his question, “I can’t be… me.” At that Garnok realized that despite the two forms being one creature there was a divide, there was an injury there.

“But I’ll get you out of here, I won’t let them keep you here,” they swore, holding Garnok close. They sang, the vibrations soothing and lulling Garnok into his first rest in eons.


	32. 31. Embrace - Garnok, Silversong, and Rebecca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tying together the previous prompts with Garnok, with Silversong's death, and the story line where Rebecca died and met Garnok (https://archiveofourown.org/works/16206686/chapters/37878668)

Garnok had grown familiar with the touch of Aideen and Silversong, making the absence painfully obvious when only part of them approached.

“Where?” Garnok managed to convey, feeling Silversong embrace him. The sensation was both comforting to Garnok and, Garnok felt, was Silversong seeking comfort in return. 

Silversong did not have to answer, Garnok feeling the emptiness where Aideen was meant to be, a gaping wound that formed a permanent separation. He felt so cold without his other half, yet he was still giving his energy to Garnok to comfort and soothe him.

“They killed me,” Silversong explained, flashes of pain and tearing in Garnok’s chest, the proximity allowing him to feel Silversong’s memories. 

“I don’t know how,” he said before Garnok could struggle to knit the words together, “but we’re bound here now.”

Garnok squeezed Silversong tight, afraid.

“We’ll get you out of here,” Silversong swore, “they can’t permanently destroy energy, we’ll persist.”

For a long time Silversong stayed with Garnok in the darkness, holding him close, until he was pulled away into a new mortal body.

\---

There was a light in the darkness with him, strange and familiar simultaneously. Garnok stretched out, reaching for it, his chains holding him fast. It confused him, what could be coming down to his physical prison in the ocean? This was not the same sort of life force that lived in the waters above his cage, this was a light like his own. But it was so weak, drowning in the darkness of the water. 

The chains burned as he shifted, trying to reach for it, but the familiarity of the light… he had to try. So he kept pushing, stretching, forcing a single part of him through the prison wall. The light was fading, and he couldn’t let it go out. 

The light was so small in his grasp, weakly wriggling even as Garnok offered it energy to sustain it. The physical form he held in his tentacle was the same as the dominant species of this planet, but the light inside was different. He could feel the body, dead save for the energy he gave to keep it alive, and protected it as best he could before the strain was too much.

The chains of his prison burned and withered him and he was forced to withdraw, but not before he mentally reached out and told the light that it was safe. He ached when he touched the light’s mind, relief and anger and sadness flooding him all at once as he understood.

The light, despite the borrowed time, did not swim for the surface and instead swam down into the depths to him. She followed his tentacle until she was looking at him, and he at her. Aideen was so small now, stuck in that body. Trapped in a prison far too small just like him.

He could feel her confusion and fear, and he did what she had done so long ago.

“I sing now,” he told her, carefully structuring it so she could understand in her current body. 

“I protect you,” he promised, singing and embracing her, so fragile and easy to break. He cradled her, singing as she rested, sharing himself with her to remind her of what she had forgotten.


End file.
